Instagram is getting rid of its "like" feature ... but don't worry, this is just a trial run and it's only going to affect some users in the United States.
IG CEO Adam Mosseri made the announcement that's sure to cause anxiety for some folks Friday at WIRED25 ... explaining the platform will experiment with hiding likes for US-based accounts starting next week.
The social media giant has already tested the same thing in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand ... and it's finally coming to America.
WATCH: Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announces that the platform will start hiding likes for US audiences starting next week. It's the latest step in Instagram’s quest to become the safest place on the internet. https://t.co/BGkMG57rdk #WIRED25 pic.twitter.com/WNTyAPVhaD
— WIRED (@WIRED) November 9, 2019
Mosseri says Instagram will slowly roll out the changes, removing publicly visible engagement metrics for a limited number of IG accounts. The person who posts a picture or video will still be able to see how many likes it gets.
So, what's the reasoning behind the change? Instagram says removing public likes could possibly make the user experience better, with less pressure to rack up likes.